Sumitomo and Hwa Fong Team Up

Duro brand tyre maker Hwa Fong Rubber Industrial has received an order from Sumitomo Rubber for 750,000 ATV tyres annually, according to reports out of Taiwan. Hwa Fong Rubber Industrial’s plant in Thailand will reportedly produce the tyres, writes Tire Review.

Hwa Fong Chairman Steven Chang said the order is a “major achievement” for the company’s ATV tyre business. Deliveries are set to begin in April. Chang said the order is so large that Hwa Fong is investing $13 million to $16 million to add capacity at the Thailand plant.

According to the report, Sumitomo sent 10 technicians to the Hwa Fong plant to assist with “production processes, product development, technology, quality control, and management.”

Besides expanding production in Thailand, Hwa Fong also plans to spend $8 million on a new passenger car radial tyre line at a plant in Suzhou, China, said the report.

The report also said that Hwa Fong rival Cheng Shin Rubber Industrial, which produces Maxxis brand tyres, is also expanding capacity at its plant in Thailand, in part to produce radial passenger tyres for its OE contract with GM.